PAL JOEY Reviews- Page 3

[MarkK]

Posted: 12/18/08 at 10:02pm

Hollywood Reporter

Raves for Channing. Not so nice to Risch

Stockard Channing steals the new Broadway revival of "Pal Joey," Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's 1940 musical noir about Chicago nightlife.

Risch replaced Christian Hoff, who withdrew from the show after a foot injury. Risch is a dynamic dancer, but his singing is strained, and his portrayal tends toward the one-dimensional.

Hollywood Reporter

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/18/08 at 10:07pm

http://www.talkinbroadway.com/world/PalJoey.html

[marknyc]

Posted: 12/18/08 at 10:14pm

"The whole thing was terrible. He was, Channing was, the sets were, the cosutmes were mediocre for William Ivey Long, the orchestrations were disgusting, the direciton was bad, the dances were pedestrian. Oh, and the new book...how do they say it nowadays?...sucked."

Ridiculous. The new book is sharp, the orchestrations serve the score well, Channing brings the needed cynicism to the role (and any vocal limitations are more then compensated for by her acting while singing them), costumes are fun, and Matthew, while hitting a few weak notes here and there, is more than up to the task as actor, singer and dancer. And of course, Martha is a revelation.

Anyone who loves Rodgers & Hart should see this show, as the first reviews say.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 12/18/08 at 10:21pm

I'd say.. I'll still see this show, IF I get to NYC this Christmas or Early next year!

J*

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 12/18/08 at 10:28pm

"In Joe Mantello’s joyless revival of “Pal Joey,” the Rodgers and Hart classic from 1940, the amoral title character performs “Happy Hunting Horn,” a number about the pursuit of the skirt, with all the glee and cockiness of a man who hears not a tooting horn but a tolling bell. The song’s customary canter slows to a crawl as Joey the gigolo (played by the newcomer Matthew Risch), looking desperate, stands on a winding staircase that definitely doesn’t lead to paradise, as chorus girls in black veils undulate wearily below. I suppose you could interpret the scene as a ruthless exploration of the empty, unhappy soul of our hedonistic hero. But it might just as easily be evidence of a production in mourning for its own lifelessness. Featuring the gifted but misused Stockard Channing and a streamlined but innuendo-heavy book by Richard Greenberg (after the original by John O’Hara), this “Pal Joey” has no detectable pulse." — Ben Brantley

[TheEnchantedHunter]

Posted: 12/18/08 at 10:40pm

"The whole thing was terrible. He was, Channing was, the sets were, the cosutmes were mediocre for William Ivey Long, the orchestrations were disgusting, the direciton was bad, the dances were pedestrian. Oh, and the new book...how do they say it nowadays?...sucked."

Possibly the most ignorant and stupid review I've ever read here. And that's saying something.

Lola Delaney
A Midwestern Town

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/18/08 at 10:42pm

Entertainment Weekly

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20247607,00.html

Theatermania

http://www.theatermania.com/broadway/reviews/12-2008/pal-joey_16609.html

Updated On: 12/18/08 at 10:42 PM

[jbdc]

Posted: 12/18/08 at 10:47pm

Brantley got it right. The book is all one level and leaves out all character development. Scenes don't lead logically into songs which is a huge problem in a book musical. And you could replace the all leads a hundred times over, but the direction is so poor it wouldn't matter.

If the audience doesn't see the possibility of any of these characters ever finding joy, there's no story and no reason for a thousand people to stick around for act two. The book and the staging leave no room for hope or for the audience to care what happens to the women or to Joey. There are some zingers in the new book, but there's no plot. That's certainly not the actors' faults. The director should know how to tell the story.

[Mamie]

Posted: 12/18/08 at 11:09pm

I wonder what theatre Finkle was in?

[marknyc]

Posted: 12/18/08 at 11:20pm

"If anyone is putting a song across better on Broadway right now than Stockard Channing as she explores the tarnished heart of "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," I don't know about it."

Same theater I was in - Stockard made this song seem like it was written yesterday. It's amazing how contemporary Hart's lyrics sound in the hands of the right performer.

[jbdc]

Posted: 12/18/08 at 11:24pm

Me too. I thought the cast was excellent. Though, I sat their feeling sorry for the them having to work so hard to no avail. And Finkle took delight in every precious morsel. Well, good for him.
Updated On: 12/18/08 at 11:24 PM

[jagfkb]

Posted: 12/18/08 at 11:27pm

I hate saying it, especially in this economy, but do you think this production might close sooner than expected?

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 12/18/08 at 11:30pm

Doubtful. Roundabout, a theatre company that relies heavily on subscriptions, has kept shows with worse reviews open for the entire run before. It won't extend, but it won't close early. It's not a limited commercial run.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 12/18/08 at 11:30pm

I don't think so.

[marknyc]

Posted: 12/18/08 at 11:35pm

"The book and the staging leave no room for hope or for the audience to care what happens to the women or to Joey. There are some zingers in the new book, but there's no plot. That's certainly not the actors' faults. The director should know how to tell the story."

But that's been "Pal Joey" from the start. In 1940, it was criticized for daring to present an anti-hero as the lead of a musical. I love the fact that it's such an early attempt to go beyond the typical boy-meets-girl plot. If you're looking for another simple happy-ending, this show ain't for you.

That's why I love it.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/18/08 at 11:54pm

NJ Star-Ledger

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/arts/index.ssf/2008/12/pal_joey_women_make_revival_hu.html

[jbdc]

Posted: 12/19/08 at 12:04am

I don't want a happy ending, just a dramatic arc. I love the anti-hero construction. You're right; it can and does work in musicals. Just not in this production. This production has an anti-plot.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 12/19/08 at 12:11am

Where's the New York Times review that's being quoted? I can't find it.

[Plum]

Posted: 12/19/08 at 1:22am

It's here.

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/19/08 at 1:22am

John Simon liked it a lot


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601098&sid=a2hUKFjBMzdo&refer=movie

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/19/08 at 1:35am

The Times is not good at all

he calls it joyless

http://theater2.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/theater/reviews/19joey.html

[marknyc]

Posted: 12/19/08 at 1:42am

Can people remember a show that got such widely divergent reviews? People seem to love or hate it.

[A Director]

Posted: 12/19/08 at 1:47am

Most critics hate it. Some people posted here saying Christian Hoff was the major problem with the show. Nope! I thought for sure pal joey would be posting here tonight.

[marknyc]

Posted: 12/19/08 at 2:19am

That's simply not true. Here's the tally so far:

amNY - negative
NY1 - positive
AP - positive
Variety - positive
Hollywood Reporter - positive (mostly)
Entertainment Weekly - mixed
Theatermania - positive
NJ Star-Ledger - positive (mostly)
John Simon - positive
NY Times - negative

So it's clearly not true that "Most critics hate it." I wonder why someone feels the need to say that?

[PRFRMR20]

Posted: 12/19/08 at 5:38am

mark - your "tally" is completely an opinion. To agree that NY1 was a positive review is absurd! They ripped Risch apart; how could a review be positive if it hates the leading man... that would be mixed... as are a lot more of the reviews.

You are all too optimistic.